Don't You Know Nos Iam Mortui
by BellatrixLestrangey
Summary: So I haven't seen really any horror or supernatural fics in this fandom so I thought I'd give it a whirl. All of the Trix and the Winx are gonna be in it. I may include the Wizards. It'll be AU and takes place in a remote (and fake) part of Salem. The Winx are pretty much paranormal investigators (without the equipment) and they're looking to see who or what is infesting the place.
1. Nature Walk

**AU where the Winx and Trix are sent to a fictional place in Salem Massachusetts in which they cannot use their powers. Yup, lot's of Latin phrases in this.**

**And for those of you who were keeping up with my fic Numb, I may or may not go on a hiatus with that one and work on this. I'll see how it does. If people like it, I'll work on it more, if not, I'll focus on Numb again.**

* * *

The landscaping was barren not a sign of life. Rotting trees-stripped of most all of their leaves decayed on either end of the building, roots buried far deep beneath the dead grass. Buried with the worms and the maggots among other vial things. The very state of the yard set Flora on edge. The others concerned themselves more with the condition of the manor itself; it was made mostly of rotting wood with a peeling off-white paint. Though the windows themselves were without cracks or blemishes, the window shutters were dangling preciously towards the ground. And the closer they got to the building, the heavier the air seemed to weigh.

"They really know how to liven the place up." Stella remarked looking from left to right.

"I'll say." Musa muttered as she dropped her belongings to the sidewalk.

"You sure we have the right place?" Tecna asked. "This really doesn't seem like the kind of place Faragonda would send us to."

"I'm sure. 1903 Lamenta Court. Right?" Layla asked.

"That's the one." Bloom answered. "We're here on behalf of the Trix. Of course it's not going to be very pleasant."

"Wait, _that's_ why we're here?" Stella frowned. "She didn't mention that.

"Actually, _I_ didn't mention that. I was hoping that maybe if we helped them with whatever they needed...well...maybe they'd leave us alone." Bloom confessed.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Musa frowned.

"Are you losers going to come inside or are you going to just stand there-bickering-on our porch?" Icy asked from her spot in the doorway.

"We'll come inside thank you." Bloom answered.

"Go on then, take a seat." Icy motioned.

"What is this place?" Flora asked.

"This is our home." Darcy called from some other room.

"Well you guys sure know how to landscape." Stella mocked.

"Anything we try to grow ends up shriveling, we just stopped trying after a while." Stormy explained.

"Which is why you six are here." Icy added.

"To help you garden?" Stella snorted.

"To help us get rid of..." Stormy started.

Icy cut in. "Let me ask you something. Do you feel it." She paused. "It's all around us. It's suffocating."

"What are you talking..." Layla started.

Again Icy cut in. "Just take a second and really consider the air around you."

"I really don't understand." Bloom admitted after a while.

"I told you they'd be no use to us." Icy hissed. "Send them off before they make it worse. Before they mess anything up."

"We. Need. Them." Darcy emerged from the other room. "We've tried everything else."

"Have fun with the faeries." Icy scoffed, heading in the direction of the stairs.

"What was all that about?" Tecna questioned.

"You'll know once you've been here a while." Darcy answered. "There's a sort of thickness to the air you see. Almost a sort of energy. It gives me migraines like you wouldn't believe."

"You just have to let it in." Stormy shrugged.

"Do. Not. Let it. In." Darcy warned, giving Stormy a swift thump on the head.

"I still don' understand." Layla flopped down on one of the sofas.

"You will soon enough." Stormy shrugged.

Bloom looked at the clock; 5:25. A good while until dark. "So what's to do around here?" She asked.

"Well, it's not quite dark yet." Stormy glanced out the window. "Icy can give you a tour of the place." She shouted just loud enough for the witch upstairs to hear.

"I'm sure you're just as capable." She hollered back.

"You know this place best, you lived here first." Stormy called.

"Not true." Icy remarked as she reached the bottom three stairs. "Hurry up, we don't have all evening. In fact we have about 45 minutes."

"After you." Musa gestured. Icy slid her way out, Bloom following after.

"You coming?" Flora asked the witches remaining inside.

"No. Much safer in here." Stormy answered rather abruptly.

"I get killer headaches-I mean worse than the ones I get in here. The energy is thicker out there." Darcy retreated back into the other room.

Icy kicked the door shut. "Shall we?"

"Whatever keeps you from causing us bodily harm." Stella shrugged. "Hey, you guys have a mall somewhere around here right?"

"Look around you." Icy motioned to the wasteland around her. "Does it look like we have a mall here." She started down the makeshift path heading towards the back yard.

After turning the corner of the manor the Winx came to see a quite well-nourished woodland area.

"Where was this the whole time?" Flora asked. "I thought you said anything in the yard dies."

"It looks more lively, but trust me. It's deader than any other place in Lamenta." Icy muttered as she kicked a pebble in it's direction. "Allow me to show you around." When the girls didn't respond Icy beckoned them to follow her into the woods.

They advanced on the forest's entrance. Flora face twisted into something of pain and panic. "She's right. Darcy is. This whole forest, it's almost like it's begging for help."

"Because it is." Icy answered without looking. She then came to a dead halt and looked back at them. "Don't let it in." And then she continued walking forward.

A chill bounced up and down Bloom's spine.

"They keep saying that." Musa whispered to Layla.

"No kidding." The other said back.

"Here we are." Icy said upon reaching the forest's entrance. By which time Flora was shifting in utter discomfort-hand seemingly glued to her forehead.

"Clearly someone is almost as sensitive as Darcy. Learn to block it out." Icy said again. "Block it out or this is gonna be a long nature walk for you."

"I...I think I'm just gonna go back inside." Flora replied and started to walk away.

"Suit yourself." Icy lifted an eyebrow.

Halfway across the yard she took off into an all out sprint.

"Moving on." Icy said flatly as she started down the path leading into the woods.

She lead them in nearly complete silence. Aside from the crunching of leaves beneath their feet and an endless bubbling chatter of some near by brook or maybe it was creek. Bloom couldn't tell for sure.

"Is there a river near by?" Layla asked, noting the sound.

"We don't go by the creek." Icy dismissed the question. She continued leading them down the path.

Bloom felt something snap and almost gurgle beneath her feet. Expecting to have to waddle her way over branches and twigs she looked down. She'd be waddling her way over something alright.

"I hate ducks." Icy murmured. "Especially when they just up and die all over my property." She kicked one of the lifeless creatures aside.

"What happened to them?" Bloom asked her stomach twisting into knots. She looked around there were about ten duck corpses littered around the ground-and Bloom could only assume there were a dozen more hidden beneath the leaves.

"She hates ducks too I guess." Icy answered.

"Alright, I think I'm ready to go back too." Tecna bailed.

"Oh, but our little hike has only just begun." Icy gave a mocking pout.

"It's almost dark out." Stella argued looking at what little light filtered its way through the trees.

"I didn't come all the way out here just to walk back inside." Icy hissed. "Keep moving."

And they continued moving forward. Up ahead lie something of a hill. And a top the hill stuck a wooden post. Bloom looked around once more. They were everywhere; at first they were scattered like the other ducks, but upon drawing nearer to the hill the bodies resembled more of a bloody, feather carpet than anything else.

Stella lifted a hand to her mouth. "I'm like 90% sure I'm gonna be sick."

"Thanks for sharing. That way if you must." Icy pointed to a nearby tree. "Everyone else, keep going. I cleared a path." She sent them each a wicked smirk.

Upon closer examination the post at the top of the hill was charred. Charred and splintered and ready to snap and fall. Other than that, there really wasn't much to the hill.

Bloom ran her fingers over the wood. _Was that rope?_ She withdrew her hand.

"This...is where it began." Icy declared. She headed down the other side of the hill, a few more feet into the woods. "And this is where it ended."

Bloom lead the rest of the Winx down the hill. The dead bird count grew more scarce as they neared the clearing. But the atmosphere grew more dense.

An overwhelming sense of fear, sadness, and...rage? Vengeance maybe? Blood-lust? Washed over her.

"A bitter end." Icy whispered her tone laced with what could only be sorrow. She looked up-hazy eyed. Pale. And she toppled.

The last of the sunlight dimmed away-lost to the trees and the night. Lost to the shadows.

* * *

**Welp, that's chapter one. Woohoo, first horror fic, hope it wasn't too cliche.**


	2. Disembodied Voices

"Now what?" Stella asked. "I so don't like this forest."

"Now, we get out of here!" Musa mumbled.

"We can't just leave her." Layla pointed to Icy.

"I'm sure she can figure her own way out." Tecna decided.

"Yeah, but we can't." Musa pointed out.

Bloom ignited a small fire in her palm. A slight breeze rustled the forest threatening to blow it out. "Someone carry Icy."

"Don't." Icy lifted a hand in protest. "I'm fine."

"You just fell over you're not..." Bloom started.

"We don't have time to discuss this." Icy hissed. "Let's go."

"What do you mean we don't have time." Layla asked.

The witch didn't simply continued to walk in what Bloom assumed was the direction of the manor. The wind rustled the trees once more. Bloom's stomach knotted once more. It had to be her imagination, nothing was out there. And then her mind went back to the ducks. If nothing was out there how did they die? Some kind of illness-Bloom tired convincing herself. But who was she kidding, she knew that wasn't true. [i]"It hurts." "More than you could ever know." "Find me. Look at me."[/i]

Icy's pace quickened. "Damn it! I said don't let it in."

[i]"Find...me...look." "Bloom." "Behind you." "To your left."[/i]

"Don't listen to it." Icy...or Bloom thought it was her...cautioned.

[i]"Bloom. Find. Me."[/i]

Bloom looked to the trees; it was a blur, a shadow. It loomed there between the swaying trees. But it also appeared to her right, and off in the distance. The shadow was everywhere. It was closing in on her. Closing in on everyone Bloom found herself coming to a stop. Overtaken by more grief than she'd ever felt. More anger than she could contain. The shadow had no face, but she could sense a scowl. It seemed to draw nearer, but yet it hadn't stepped an inch closer.

"Bloom come on." One of her friends urged. But the voice was quickly drown out by a mess of other incoherent whispers. [i]"Come with me, Bloom."[/i] Beckoned one. [i]"Follow the creek."[/i] The others didn't seem to hear. Where were the others? Bloom looked around, noting their absence. But she could hear one of them couldn't she? Bloom felt her knees grow weak. And then a hand on her shoulder.

She woke up staring at the ceiling. It was still dark, mostly. A light poured in through the door that was resting slightly ajar. It was the tiniest twinkle of light. It fluttered from the closet to just above the bed before falling into the floor boards. Discomfort fluttered in her belly. The forest still lingered in her head. [i]"Bloom"[/i] her name seemed to bounce from wall to wall. The door creaked open the rest of the way. "NO!" Bloom shrieked. "NO!"

The figure loomed over her. "You need to relax." It insisted.

"No, stay away!" Bloom kicked.

"Let Darcy fix what [i]you[/i] screwed up." Icy silenced her.

"[i]I[/i] screwed up? [i]You[/i] were the one who left me to die!" Bloom hollered.

"No. I put my ass on the line in dragging your's out of that forest, after you friends ran off squealing." Icy hissed.

"Perhaps you should go back downstairs." Darcy suggested.

"Perhaps you should teach her to block the forest out. Perhaps you should teach her..." Icy started, only to be pushed out of the room.

"Alright Bloom, I need you to hold still. No matter how much it hurts." Darcy instructed as she uncapped a tiny vial of water. She poured it over the fairy's head. Her whole head exploded in a stinging pain. Darcy continued pouring the water into the gash on her head. Tears prickled at her eyes.

"Stop, you have to stop." Bloom shrieked.

Darcy said nothing. A daze overtook Bloom and she fell back on the pillow once more.

"What happened out there." Flora asked.

"She let a spirit in." Stormy answered.

"A spirit? No, she let [i]all[/i] of the spirits in the area in." Icy hissed. "She almost killed us all. And if she keeps being such a pain...some of those spirits won't ever leave her."

"So this place is haunted then?" Tecna asked. "If only I bought some of my..."

"It's a good thing you didn't, they [i]hate[/i] being investigated." Icy spat. "Which is why I didn't want you all to come here. We don't need help, as long as we don't let them in..."

"I'm tired of obeying their rules." Stormy cut in. "It's our turn to make the rules."

"I already do." Icy insisted.

"Maybe if we could figure out who each of them are and what they want we can get them to...cross over." Tecna suggested.

"Don't be ridiculous. Some of them. Some of them were never even alive to begin with. The ones that latched on to Bloom. They were never alive." Icy explained. "And you know what's preventing the ones that were alive from leaving?"

"The ones that never were." Musa filled in.

"Precisely." Icy confirmed.

"So, how did they-you know-get here?" Stella asked.

"They died." Icy rolled her eyes.

"I mean the ones who were never born." Stella mimicked the motion.

Icy started down the hall. "That's your cue to follow." Stormy pointed out.

"Aren't you going too?" Layla asked.

"No way." Stormy shuddered. "Icy's the only one who actually has the guts to go there."

Layla and Musa choose to follow Icy down the hall. They walked in silence, feet constantly finding their way to the most creaky of the hardwood floorboards. Icy flipped the light-switch up. The lights sputtered on. They were now standing in a room it was dimly lit a single large cloth draping over everything. Icy swiftly stripped the cover away to reveal a grotesque display. A few animal carcasses, or what remained of them. Snuffed out candles. An various symbols etched into the ground. All set before what the Winx girls could assume was a bloodstained makeshift sacrificial alter of sorts.


	3. The Vessel

"What did you three do?" Layla took a step back.

"_We_ didn't do anything. _They_ did." Icy muttered.

"What is all of this?" Musa muttered as she ran a hand over a candle.

"Don't touch that!" Icy snapped."This is exactly what you think it is; it's a sacrificial alter. Take a life, in this case the animal's, and raise the dead. That's what they all think anyhow. They aren't raising the dead, they are summoning something that never was." She paused. "An armature mistake of course. Made by daring adolescents in over their heads...wanting a thrill. The last people who owned this house invited them in. Gave them permission to infest the house. Infest the forest."

"Why would they want to do that?" Layla asked. "It makes no sense."

"I already told you. They were looking for a thrill. At least that's what they came crying to the real estate agent as she was selling the house. Told her that it was their fault it was haunted."

"I so totally would have moved all that garbage." Stella said with a waving motion. "I mean it's like totally gross." She stepped into the room.

"Look who decided to join us." Icy seemed less than impressed. "We would love to get rid of it, but we can't." She lazily tossed the cover back over the alter and headed for the door. Stella and Layla quick to follow. Musa however lingered at the scene. There was something about it. Something she didn't want to admit she _liked_. She uncovered the items once more-after checking to make sure Icy had left. She pulled a knife wedged between the floorboards (placed dead in the center of a pentagram) out.

_How interesting._ She remarked to herself. And then she heard footsteps coming toward her. She quickly re-covered the alter, and slid the knife into her back pocket. She had no time to place it back, not yet.

"You need to leave. Now." Icy hissed.

"I know I'm coming." Musa sassed, but followed the witch anyhow. Upon reaching the living room she took a set near Darcy. The witch cocked her head and gave the fairy a strange look.

"What did you do?" Darcy whispered.

"I didn't do anything." Musa muttered.

"You had to have...they don't just...what did you do!?" Darcy cried.

"I'll give you an answer as soon as your question starts to make sense." Musa snapped.

"Musa, your aura is very dark." Flora remarked. "Please calm down sweetie."

"I am calm." Musa growled.

"Yeah, clearly." Stormy snorted.

Musa's expression lit with some sort of fury. She scowled and headed for the stairs.

"And where are you going?" Icy asked.

"To check on Bloom." She shrugged.

"No, you are going to stay down here." Icy tugged the fairy back. "Darcy seems to think you've caused enough trouble."

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!" Musa threw her hands in the air.

"You didn't _mean_ to do anything wrong. They can coax you into it." Darcy said. "Sort of like how I can coax people into doing things."

"I have no clue what you're talking about." Musa didn't try to hide her annoyance.

"Perhaps we should all get some sleep." Tecna suggested.

"I can show them to their rooms." Darcy volunteered.

* * *

Musa awoke to a dull stinging throb on her back. She clenched her teeth against the pain and pulled herself up. She walked down the hall and knocked at what she thought was Layla's door.

"What brings you to my door at six in the morning?" Icy lifted an eyebrow.

"I thought this was Layla's room." Musa answered.

"Do I look like Layla?" Icy asked looking rather amused. "I'm not what you call a morning person."

"You look rather awake." Musa pointed out.

"Still doesn't mean I enjoy the morning." Icy shrugged. "Anyhow, I know you're not still here just to make small talk. What do you _really_ want?" Icy leaned on the door frame.

"Nothing, it was nothing." Musa turned to walk away.

"Your tone suggests otherwise. What were you going to ask Layla."

"To take a look at my back." Musa blurted out, her face instantly flushing. "I mean...it was stinging and stuff when I woke up. It's nothing." She continued walking away only to have Icy pull her back.

"What are you doing." Musa huffed as she tried to free herself from the witch's grasp.

The witch ignored her and lifted the back of the fairy's shirt up. Across her back ran three parallel scratches and on her spin something akin to puncture wounds.

"It most certainly isn't nothing." Icy murmured, with a rather appalled scowl. "Just what did you do when you were alone in that room? You didn't touch anything did you?"

With a defeated sigh Musa led Icy back to her room and retrieved the knife from its hiding place in her drawer.

"You were alone for three minutes!" Icy practically shouted. "Hell, I didn't even think it was possible to screw up so badly in such a short amount of time!"

"What's going on?" Darcy asked.

"She was messing with the alter." Icy scoffed.

Darcy's expression quickly changed from one of indifference to one of wide eyes and slightly parted lips. "You didn't really do it did you?"

Musa held the knife out to Darcy.

"NO. No, keep that thing away from me." Darcy said way to quickly for Musa to remain calm.

"What are you guys talking about!? What's going on? What did you see on my back?" She rapidly fired the questions.

"You really fucked this one up." Icy muttered.

"What happened to her back?" Darcy asked.

"Scratches. Three of them. And I don't exactly know what to call the other marks." Icy answered.

"Let me see." Darcy instructed.

Musa was about to do as she was told when she felt another stab of pain. And another. On her right arm. She cried out and grabbed her the aching spot.

Icy grabbed the fairy's hand and yanked up the sleeve; fresh blood ebbed its way down her arm and over Icy's fingers. The witch retched her hand back, clearly appalled by the whole thing.

"You fucked up, you really fucked up." Icy glowered.

"What do you mean." Musa repeated. "What's going on?"

"It's attacking you." Darcy bit the inside of her cheek.

"You're a vessel." Icy added.


	4. Digging Up The Past

"A vessel?" Musa questioned.

"It's taken over your body. It's inside you." Darcy explained.

"You're possessed." Icy simplified. "That's why I told you not to touch anything."

"I didn't mean..." Musa started.

"Of course you didn't." Icy dismissed and headed down the hall.

"How do I get rid of it?" Musa asked, clutching her bleeding arm.

"Same way I'm trying to get it out of Bloom, I suppose." Darcy answered. "Yours should be easier to get rid of. Your demon isn't quite as dark." She motioned for Musa to follow her. "But it won't be any less painful.

* * *

"I put some research into the house." Tecna informed Icy as the witch entered the room.

"Oh?" Icy responded, rather uninterested.

"This house has very few purchase records. It was owned a few centuries back by the Blackthorn family in 1692. They were a family of five. It was then bought again in the 1800's by the Flynnbay family. It was untouched for another few centuries and then bought in 2000 by the Harlingtons." Tecna paused. "They bought the house in early October. About 4 months after, they sold it."

"Yeah, because during their Halloween party, they tampered with something they shouldn't have." Stormy put the pieces together.

"Sounds about right." Tenca looked up from her laptop and agreed. "Anyhow, The house went unsold for two months and then on May 8th, 2001 the house was bought again by the Waychesters. They only stayed there for a week. I'm assuming the spirits were quick to drive them out."

"When did those three buy the house?" Flora asked.

"That's what puzzles me." Tecna paused. "There's no record of any transaction or even a discussion about selling the manor after the Waychesters left. In fact, I'm pretty certain this manor was taken off the market after they left...since their youngest son was supposedly killed by a spirit."

They all looked at Icy for an explanation.

"We needed a place to stay. We knew no one would actually buy the house, or even get near enough to evict us so we took the opportunity." Icy declared quite pridfully.

"So you like knew the house was haunted?" Stella asked. "And you still bought it."

"We need a place to stay, and they are to scared to deliver bills to the place. I think we got a good deal." Icy shrugged.

"Well, Layla and I were going to go to the library and do a little more research." Tecna decided. "Learn more about the land the place was built on, the history of it, and what not."

"Good luck." Icy rolled her eyes.

"We need to know how to get there." Layla prompted. "Or you can just take us."

"No thank you." Icy murmured. "I'm staying right over here."

"Stormy?" Tecna asked.

"She's not going either." Icy cut in.

"Please, will you just come with us." Layla asked.

Icy considered. "Fine, let's go. And we better make it quick. We can't be out after sun down."

"Why is that?" Layla asked.

"We don't have a car, and I have no desire to walk around out there during the dead hours."

"Dead hours?" Flora asked.

"The activity spikes from 10 at night to 3 in the morning." Stormy explained.

"Can't we just teleport?" Tecna asked.

"I don't recommend it. Teleportation requires the passage between the planes. Between the land of the dead and the living. It makes the teleporter extremely venerable to latching spirits. Two of you already made vessels of yourselves..." Icy trailed off as she headed for the door. Flora, Layla, and Tecna followed behind.

"I think I'll just stay here. Besides, my nails could use some new polish." Stella waved them off.

* * *

An hour had wormed its way by, by the time the four had reached a small town. It was a quaint little village a mix of Victorian architecture with modern structures and renovations. Most of the buildings were small with wood fixtures painted white and peeling. The place looked quite run down, but it bought a sense of cozy welcoming. Unlike that of the Trix's manor. Each and every building seemed to have a few trees towering over them, a slight breeze would pick up the fallen leaves every now and again.

"Autumn in Salem is very beautiful." Flora pointed out.

"I suppose." Icy muttered as she continued making her way down the cracking path. "It's just across the street."

The library was the largest building in the village; made of brick with a clock tower looming from the roof. It looked just like something out of a gothic Victorian movie. The first thing that came to Tecna's mind was Frankenstine. The clock donged 12.

"Well, it appears that we killed a good two hours during our little village tour." Icy remarked. "After you." She motioned.

Tecna took the lead. Upon stepping into the library she was greeted by the musky smell of old books. She had to admit she did enjoy that smell.

The inside was as welcoming as the outside, Tecna felt pretty safe there. All the chairs had plush (but worn) gold cushions and rested before dark wooden tables.

The fairy instantly got to work; she made her way over to the librarian and requested books on the history of house 1903, Lamenta Court. The elderly woman took her to a section of history books, ran her hand over the spines of each, and pulled a few off the shelf. Before handing them over to the fairy she turned and looked Tecna dead in the eyes. "I do hope you know what you're digging up."


	5. 1903 Lamenta Court

"Haunted house? Yeah, if that's the case, I know exactly what I'm digging up." Tecna answered and took the book from the librarian's hand.

"Be careful. And don't let them in." The librarian warned before turning away.

"Wait, what did you just say?" Tecna hollered.

The old woman twisted her head back slightly. "I said. Don't let them in."

Tecna glanced at her name tag; Muriel Waychester.  
The name was familiar. By the time she had placed it, the woman was gone.

"I found the book." Tecna announced, upon getting back to the table.

"Great, stop wasting my time and start reading." Icy muttered.

Tecna pulled out a pen and a notebook and began jotting down some notes;

_**Salem 1692**_

_In early 1692 manor 1903 was owned by the government. The manor was used as courthouse as well has home to judge McHawwon. The man had held several executions and celebrations on that property. On the 15th of November McHawwon sold the house to the Blackthorn family for a large sum of money._

"Tell me something I don't know." Tecna grumbled and flipped through the pages.

_**The Blacktorn Family**_

_The Blackthrons were a family most known for playing a key role in the Trial Nocte Demum. Francis Blackthorn (37)-a industrialist and former-slave master-married Vernilla Bretton (29) in 1687. They had five children-names lost in translation-four teenage girls and one younger boy. Francis Blackthorn aided in the creation of many farming tools, this bought the family the wealth they used to purchase Lamenta manor in late 1692. Even later that year the man's wife was accused of witchcraft and executed on her own land._ _**See page 187, Trial Nocte Demum.**_

**The Trial Nocte Demum**

_On December 18th Vernilla Blackthorn was caught making herbal remedies (now a much used antibiotic) to aid her youngest daughter's fight against pneumonia. The woman was accused of practicing potion making and other witchcraft. The woman was to be burned at the stake that night. Francis Blackthorn was quick to defend the woman and for that was hung by her side. The house was then set aflame, it burned to the ground taking all five children with it. Later autopsies revealed that the youngest girl had died an hour earlier, the pneumonia had claimed her. The public justified the burning of the children in calming that the second eldest girl was also a witch. Based solely on her 'other-worldly' appearance._

_**Lamenta in the 1800's**___

On August 3rd 1844 the Flynnbay renovated the manner and started up a family run hotel. The hotel was initially a huge success About a month later the business was driven out by supposed spirits of the executed witches wandering around both the halls and the forest and land surrounding the hotel. Guests had claimed to have felt eyes fall upon them at the break of dawn or as they slept. Some had claimed to see a young woman helping a child get dressed in front of various mirrors. Even more had claimed to see a little boy staring at them from afar at the edge of the forest. On March 27th Darius Flynnbay was pushed from the top floor in a successful attempt at theft. His wife hung herself in the garden shortly after.

Tecna slammed the book shut. "Congrats, you may have illegally inhabited the most haunted house in Salem."

"No shit." Icy replied. "We done here?"

"I think so. For now." Tecna decided.

"Perhaps we should go to the old census building. Ya know, find out more about the Blackthorns?" Flora suggested.

"Like the names of the children." Layla added.

"We can do that tomorrow. Remember, we have a tight time schedule." Icy pointed out.

************************************************************  
The four women arrived at the house just as the sun met the horizon. Not quite dark but certainly not light. Icy stepped into the house, followed by Flora and Tecna (who was pretty eager to share the news). A chill ran down Layla's spine. She was being watched. She could tell. She folded her arms over her chest and looked into the windows of floor two. Nothing...no one. She looked to the forest. That's where she saw him. A little boy with hair the color of soot and eyes of an unnatural blue. She opened her mouth to shout. The boy lifted his pointer to his lips and faded away. She went shuddered and walked inside.


	6. Ibinu

Layla walked inside and quickly slammed the door behind her.

"It's gotten worse." Darcy said.

"What has?" Icy asked.

"The vessel." Darcy answered.

"I thought you said it wasn't as dark." Icy glanced up.

"I was wrong." Darcy practically whispered.

"How wrong?" Icy questioned.

"I can't get it out of her. I, I'm usually always able to get them to leave. But this one. This one latched on tight." Darcy led the other witch up the stairs.

Musa lie face up on the bed, her body covered in lashes, cuts, bruises, and punctures.

"She did most of it herself." Darcy pointed out. "I tried getting a real exorcist. Refused to set foot here."

"But of course." Icy took a seat across the room.

"I was hoping you could try." Darcy prompted.

"Me? You want _me_ to do the exorcism?" Icy gave a cynical laugh.

"They seem to listen to you best when you tell them to screw off." Darcy pointed out.

Icy let out a sigh and drew closer to the bed. She began to mutter words in many tongues. And at the words 'část cesty' the fairy let out an awful sound akin to ear splitting shriek mixed horrendously with the most inhuman snarl.

"Vos can non indicasti mihi quid faciam. Ubi ad. Quo infestare. Haec mea. Me. Et erunt mihi in custodiam." Musa growled.

"What the hell is she doing!? What is she saying?" Stormy shouted as she burst into the room-a group of faeries not far behind.

"You can't tell me what to do. Where to go. Where to infest. She's mine. Mine. Mine and mine to keep." Icy translated. "It would appear that Darcy is right. We have a determined one."

"Well then what are you waiting for!? You so need to do something!" Stella threw her hands up.

"I'm working on it." Icy hissed and began muttering.

Musa began quivering viciously. She rolled to the side and then back on to her back. And then she jolted up. Icy continued the muttering. The fairy let out another pained howl one in her own vocal range and then one laced with that of a demon. She hunched over and began coughing. Coughing until scarlet stained the bed sheet.

"Stop it you're hurting her!" Tecna yelled. Icy ignored the fairy and kept chanting. The coughing came on more vigorously. And she toppled off the bed. "I said stop!" Tecna yelled again, this time giving the witch a forceful shove.

Icy's facial features tensed in new found blood lust. "You want me to let her die?" She asked. "I let her die." The woman didn't hide the venom leaking into her words.

"You're already killing her." Stella accused.

"No, I'm helping her. _It_ is killing her. And if I don't get it out she'll die anyhow. So? Do you want her to die fighting or die without ever having a chance?"

No one spoke. After a moment Icy answered the silence. "That's what I thought. Darcy, Stormy, why don't you two give me a hand."

The witches nodded and continued where Icy had left off.

"Si non habeat, non potest. Denique non nemo, si non habeat, non potest! If I can't have her no one can!" Musa shrieked before swiping a hand at Icy's face.

Icy lifted a hand to her stinging face. Upon drawing it back she found it painted in blood. "Don't you think I won't hurt her" she hissed giving the fairy a swift kick in the face.

"Si non habeat, non potest." The fairy repeated. This time she began to claw at her own face; dragging her nails down her cheeks-slowly at first and by the third swipe more rapidly. Taking more and more flesh with it.

"Someone restrain her!" Icy demanded. Stormy grabbed the fairy's arms and pinned them behind her back. This elicited more screams and growls and an occasional dangerously low grunt. Icy leaned in closer, her incantation much faster. At this point the fairy was kicking and struggling. And she broke from Stormy's hold. No sooner had she freed herself did she land a punch to Icy's face. "Son of a bitch!" Icy hissed quickly withdrawing. "Shit." She covered her throbbing eye.

Darcy continued to mutter the banishing spell. All the while Musa had taken to clawing at her face again. This time she went for her own eyes.

Layla turned and darted out of the room, Stella hot on her trail. "I so think I'm gonna be sick." The blond wailed.

"Bathroom's that way." Layla pointed. "I gotta. I'm gonna go get some fresh air while the sun is still up." She glanced at the clock; a half hour would be more than enough time for that.

"She's going to claw her own eyes out!" Stormy hollered.

"Well let's just delay that, shall we." Icy murmured as she covered the fairy's eyes in a sheet of ice. The demon within her hollered.

"Icy." Came a voice from in the door way. No. It wasn't one voice. There were two. One very soft, deep and wispy and the other-Icy turned to face her-Bloom's tired voice.

"I thought you took care of her!" Icy shouted at Darcy, frankly angered by the fact that literally all hell breaking loose. To think all she planned on doing was reading her novel.

"I did! I had her fixed, she was recovering and..." Darcy started.

"And you left her alone. I thought you were the smart one." Icy huffed.

"Icy I can help." Bloom offered.

"Is this Bloom speaking or the spirit. Either which way I can guarantee that you're useless in this situation." Icy sassed.

"This is Jyne." Bloom cocked her head slightly.

"Jyne." Icy whispered, voice barely audible.

"Who's Jyne?" Flora asked. "Get her out of Bloom."

"I'm a bit busy sweetheart." Icy sneered. "Jyne is the least of our problems anyhow."

"Let me help you." Jyne offered again, this time more firmly.

"Don't tell me what to do Jyne." Icy yelled.

"Her name is Bloom." Tecna corrected.

"Bloom...Jyne, whatever! They're sharing a body and right now Jyne is doing the talking!" Icy declared.

"Icy, pay attention." Darcy suggested.

Icy whipped her head back around only to see Musa lunge at her. "Son of a..." Icy started and her head met the floor.

Bloom-Jyne let out a sigh. "Why don't you ever listen to me?"

"Bite me Jyne." Icy muttered before blacking out. Her body faded away.

"What just?" Tecna started.

"That's what happens when you fight a demon like Ibinu. Don't worry, she'll be back." Bloom-Jyne shrugged. She pressed her index finger to Musa's head and muttered a cleansing spell. The fairy dropped to the floor, a dark cloud spilled from her mouth and drifted to the ceiling. "And she will be fine too."

Jyne stepped out of Bloom's body. Flora yelped and jumped back. "You're face..."

"Well I don't know what you were expecting." Jyne shrugged, the maggots dangling from her empty eye sockets wriggling slightly around her peeling flesh.

"Aren't good ghosts supposed to be...ya know..." Flora started.

"Beautiful? Normal? Who are you kidding? You really are the most painfully optimistic faeries. I always thought Icy was just exaggerating."

"You know Icy?" Tecna asked.

"I've only been haunting her house since she moved in." Tecna assumed Jyne would be rolling her eyes if she had them. "She usually complains to me. At first she would tell me to stop listening in and let her complain in the privacy of her own lonesome bedroom. But I didn't listen and so she just started complaining to me. Mostly about you guys."

"Why do you listen?" Flora asked.

"Because that's my job. To listen to her." Jyne answered.

"What do you mean." Flora asked.

The entity gave a rotting smirk and stepped through the wall.

"Is no one going to ask how Icy used magic when none of us can?" Tecna asked.

Layla took a deep breath letting in the autumn air. It tasted of pine and ash trees mixed with a hint of cider and burning leaves. Normally Layla would invite Flora outside so they could enjoy the brisk autumn air together. But this time was different. The air was still no more welcoming than it was on the first night. In fact, the more Layla focused in on it, the more uncased she felt. Layla got to her feet and stretched her arms. _What was she thinking coming out here anyhow!? She'd just seen a demented little boy out there._She turned to go inside when something struck her on the head.

"Do ya wanna play with me?" Called a young boy with a British accent. "None of my sisters want to play with me. And mum's a bit busy."

Layla looked up. He was a little boy of about ten, his hair a raven black. Eyes a shade of baby blue.

"Who are you? Where did you come from." Layla asked.

"My name is Simon. I live around here." He picked up the ball he had thrown at Layla. "Come on, don't you want to play?"

"I guess I can...for a little while." Layla looked up at the setting sun. "But not for too long."

"Come on then." He laughed and dashed into the forest.

"Wait up!" Layla called. "Don't go in there."

"It'll be fine. I play in here all the time." Simone called and shot her an innocent smile. "I want to show you where I live."

"Will we have time to get there, is the forest like the shortcut?" Layla asked.

"Sure we will." Simone chuckled. "I have all the time in the world."

"Well I certainly don't." Layla muttered.

Simone ignored her and ran deeper into the forest. Layla could hear the churning of the lake.

"Alright look kid..." Layla started.

"We're here! We're home!" Simone announced as he pushed away some thickets to reveal a murky lake.

"This is my home." He turned around and fixed his eyes on Layla, his eyes turning to a penetrating unnatural blue.  
His cloths set fire, the ball dropped from his hand and rolled to Layla's feet.

"Help me." He screamed. "I don't want to die again."


	7. The Manilla Folder

Layla dashed out of the forest not looking back even once. She slipped into the house just as the sun slipped it's way behind the trees.

"Layla you okay!?" Stella asked. "You don't look to hot."

"I'm fine. I'm okay. I just saw..." Layla stammered.

"A ghost." Darcy filled in. "Yeah, Simon usually tries to find a playmate around this hour."

"Who is he? This Simone?" Layla asked.

"I have a more important question; are Musa Bloom okay?" Stella asked.

"Do you want to see them?" Darcy asked. "Stormy's been playing guard dog."

"Yeah, that would be great." They both answered.

"It was so weird." Bloom remarked. "One minute I was just me and the next. I. I really don't remember what happened when I wasn't...me."

"That's how it usually works." Stormy remarked.

"You were possessed by a ghost named Jyne." Flora informed her.

"Yeah, Stormy told me about it." Bloom replied. "She looked pretty creepy, but she didn't hurt me or anything."

"I didn't think she would. Jyne's been sort of looking out for us. Whether Icy likes it or not." Darcy gave a half smile.

"Lucky you." Musa mumbled, still half dazed. " I don't think some of these scars are ever going away."

"Ibinu...Icy seems to think he's the worst of them." Stormy informed them. "I'm pretty sure even she's afraid of him."

"She is." Darcy confirmed. "He goes after her the most."

"Has he ever made a vessel of her?" Musa asked.

"He did his best." Icy stepped into the room.

"You guys want to tell me who Ibinu is?" Bloom asked.

"You don't want to know." Icy answered. "And in his...its case the less you know, the safer you are."

"That doesn't sound right." Tecna gave her input. "Knowledge is everything."

"And ignorance is bliss." Icy added. "Don't involve yourself with Ibinu."

************************************************************  
A less than pleased Icy lead Tecna and Layla back into town. "This little field trip..."

"Better not take too long. We know." Layla filled in.

"Great than speed up, I've seen slugs that move faster than you two." Icy murmured.

"Of course you have." Tecna retorted. "Honestly, if it's such a pain to come with us. Don't. I'm sure we can manage on our own."

"See ya." Icy waved and headed for the ice cream shop across the street.

"Later." Layla waved back.

"Who are they talking to?" Tecna heard a little girl ask.

"Keep walking dear. Salem has a strange lot." The girl's mother declared and pulled her child along.

Tecna pushed open the door to the census building.

"We're looking for files on the Blackthorn family." She requested.

"How long will you be looking at them? If you wish to check them out just leave your name and number on the clipboard." The archive master motioned.

"Thank you mister..."

"Ford." He bowed slightly.

"Thank you mister Ford." Tecna smiled. "That would probably be optimal" She added as she stared at a pretty pissed off looking Icy, standing across the street (the ice cream cone in her hand being the only thing keeping her from frosting the whole town over).

"Very well. I shall retrieve them for you." Mr. Ford nodded.

"Good news Icy, we checked the files out. We can just head right home." Layla remarked upon exiting the building.

"Of course you did. I didn't even have time to finish my ice cream." Icy frowned.

"Always something to complain about." Tecna shrugged. "Come on. We're this much closer to finding out who these spirits are."

"Ignorance is bliss." Icy repeated herself.

************************************************************  
With only a lamp to light the room, Tecna began looking over the files. She cast the files on Francis and Vernilla, for the time being she didn't need them. No, her focus was on the children. And she had a pretty good idea that one of them went by the name Jyne.

"Found it." She whispered to herself, pulling the article on the Blackthorn children from the file folder.

Tecna reached into her bag and tugged out the notebook.

_**Jyne Blackthorn**_

_The eldest child of Francis and Vernilla.  
Date of Birth: September 7th 1674  
Age of Death: 18  
Date of Death: December 18th 1692  
Manner of Death: House fire-execution_

_**Simone Blackthorn**___

The youngest child of Francis and Vernilla.  
Date of Birth: April 20th 1682  
Age of Death: 10  
Date of Death: December 18th 1692  
Manner of Death: House fire-execution

"Knew it." Tecna laughed to herself. If this was the case getting them to leave would be easy. They certainly didn't seem like bad people...spirits. All she needed to do was find out more on Ibinu. But that would come after she turned the page and learned the names of the other Blackthorn children. Smiling victoriously to herself Tecna flipped the page.

She blinked thrice and let the sheet fall to the floor.

"Hey Tecna, 'sup?" Musa greeted.

"She's doing much better. In case you couldn't tell." Darcy pointed out.

"Yeah." Tecna nodded. "That's good." She took a seat.

"What's up Tec? You seem...bothered." Musa observed.

"Nothing. It's nothing. I'm just hungry." Tecna dismissed.

Tecna didn't realize just how crappy that lie was until the food was placed before her and she found that her appetite was rather void at the moment. But in order to keep suspicion to a minimum she manged to scarf at least some of it down.

"Where's Icy at?" Tecna asked.

"Don't know. She hasn't come down yet. Hasn't talked to us since she got back." Darcy answered and the silence fell heavy once again.

" Well, I'm going upstairs." Stormy cut into the silence and dismissed herself. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm not as nocturnal as Darcy."

"I'm not even." Darcy pouted. "I simply have trouble sleeping."

"So do I. That's why I go to bed early...ya know, so I can at least try." Stormy taunted.

"Yeah whatever." Darcy got up to follow.

When the two disappeared to the upper floor Bloom spoke. "What's really wrong?"

Tecna bit her lip and looked down at the file folder. "I. I found something...Just look." She gave the files a shove across the table.

Bloom flipped it open to the marked page. "But that can't be."

"Find out anything useful?" Icy asked leaning against the wall-perfectly blocking the entrance to the hallway.

Tecna held up the file.

Icy smirked. "Don't You Know Nos Iam Mortui."

"Pardon?" Tecna's voice dropped to a shaky whisper.

Icy watched the file slide from Tecna's hand to the floor. "Don't you know we're already dead."


	8. The Blackthorn Sisters

"You're just messing with us like you always do aren't you?" Bloom accused.

"Look at the files." Icy shrugged.

The fairy looked to the papers that like at Tecna's feet;

_**Iciel Grace Blackthorn**___

The second eldest child of Francis and Vernilla.  
Date of Birth: December 18th 1674  
Age of Death: 18  
Date of Death: December 18th 1692  
Manner of Death: House fire-execution

_**Linda Darcy Blackthorn**___

The third eldest child of Francis and Vernilla.  
Date of Birth: August 23th 1675  
Age of Death: 17  
Date of Death: December 18th 1692  
Manner of Death: House fire-execution

_**Vanessa Stormy Blackthorn**___

The second youngest child of Francis and Vernilla.  
Date of Birth: July 21st 1677  
Age of Death: 15  
Date of Death: December 16th 1692  
Manner of Death: Pneumonia

"You're name isn't Iciel." Bloom denied.

"Go ahead Bloom, tell me more about me. I'm _dying_ to know what a fairy who didn't even know of her own identity-until I told her of it-knows about me." Icy paused. "Darcy and Stormy go by their middle names. I go by an alias. A nickname you could say."

"If any of this were true you couldn't have aged and you couldn't possibly have gone to Cloud Tower or have gotten hurt in the Battle of Magix..." Tecna tried.

"You all are painfully good with denial, I must give you credit." Icy rolled her eyes. "I haven't aged a day. I can go wherever I damn well please, and I didn't get hurt in that battle-only Ibinu can hurt me. If I did I would have been dead. How ironic, if I had been alive then I would have died in a fire anyways."

"Liar." Bloom pressed.

Icy's expression twisted to a smirk. She strode towards the Winx and when she reached the center of the room implied herself upon a large spike of ice. Not a drop of blood hit the floor, not a cry of pain. She melted the spike away. "I'm already dead."

"Then why are we here?" Musa asked.

"Because Darcy and Stormy still think they're alive. They were 'afraid of the ghosts and wanted them gone'. We are the ghosts. Do you see the problem?" Icy muttered. "And the last thing I want is for you to come in here and get rid of the five of us. Leave my brother to his games in the forest, leave me to do what ever I choose to do, and don't you dare tell the other two that they're already dead."

"Why shouldn't we?" Layla questioned.

"Because they'll want to cross over. And they can't. They can't because Ibinu is a spiritual cockblock!" Icy growled.

"Well I think they have the right to know." Flora said softly.

"No. You have no clue what it's like to know that you're dead and unable to cross." Icy snapped. "Ignorance is bliss, I keep telling you that. Simone didn't start his nightly burning ritual until he found out that he died in a fire. Jyne didn't start decaying until she found out she was dead..." she trailed off. "Knowing you're dead is more painful than believing you're alive. So either help me get rid of Ibinu or get the hell out of here."

"Jyne is decaying and Simone is reliving his death over and over again. What's happening to you." Musa asked.

Icy glanced up, meeting the fairy's eyes. "I sacrificed myself to Ibinu to prevent him from claiming Darcy. The longer you wait the closer I am to becoming one of his kind."

"How long have you been stuck here." Flora asked sympathy dripping in her tone.

"Save the pity for Jyne, she's been here the longest. Darcy, Stormy and I, we've only been here for a little while, group of Cloud Tower students came for a tour of the place a while back. Despite what Griffin said, they summoned us anyways." She began to fade away. "You can take those files back to the census building."

"She's been dead this whole time." Bloom whispered to herself as her every encounter with the spirit-witch replayed in her mind. It sure explained a lot.

She almost felt bad for the woman. Dead, and forced to stay on Earth forever.  
Burned alive. And on her own birthday too.


	9. True Passing

_The autumn air was crisp and cool. Somewhere across the way someone was harvesting a crop of some sort. It bought a certain sense of nirvana to Iciel. She watched as Linda assembled herself a pile of leaves and then Simon, (with a running start) leaped into them. And with a frustrated sigh she would attempt to pile up the leaves again, complaining about how Jyne should be doing this because she is the eldest._

But Jyne was sitting with Iciel at this point, and the girl had no intention of doing yard work-even if Francis and Vernilla asked of it. Frankly Jyne found it much nicer to enjoy the brisk autumn eve by laying down in the grass.

It was on that night that Francis called them inside to tell them that Vanessa had passed. Her illness finally claimed her. Just two days short of Iciel's birthday.

Perhaps it was for the best.

At the very top of the morning a sizable mob formed at their doorstep, every single member of the party slinging some accusation. "Witch." "Demon." "Devil." "She was brewing potions to heal that girl." "She's probably brewing them right now to resurrect her!"

Vernilla was pretty quick to slam the door...or at least make an attempt to do so-to her dismay there was already a hand wedged between the door and the door frame...and about a dozen more hands prying it back open.

One man made a grab for Simon. Iciel without any hesitation slapped his hand away-a stinging blow resulting in man hissing "they are the devil's children. We should burn them too."

There were multiple nods in agreement. "That one was always strange. I mean...look at her hair." A woman agreed. "She's probably worse than her mother." Another added.

Iciel edged closer to the crowd and dangerously slow. A hand fell on her shoulder, firmly pulling her back. "Don't." A simple command. "Not yet."

Iciel looked back at Jyne set to protest but a voice had cut that short. "Tomorrow. Tomorrow we burn the witch."

"And ye best stay out of it." Bellowed another to Francis. "Or we'll hang ye too."

"And the children." Added a man with a tall accent.

"We'll burn that one anyways." Someone called, nudging a finger in Iciel's direction. She recognized him as the man whom had went at Simon.

"For what would you want to murder my daughter?" Francis snarled.

"Look at her hair...her eyes. Tell me she's not a witch."

Francis stared him dead in the eyes. "She's not a witch. It was an illness that resulted in..."

"What kind of illness can bleach a person's hair to that extent." Questioned a woman.

"Burn the woman and hang her husband."

Simon clung to Iciel, his small body trembling. Next to her Linda stood motionlessly, body rigid with anxiety.

"We're not witches." Jyne spoke. "And even if we, by some chance, are. We aren't bad people, all we've ever done was help you." She paused. "Back when the Wickerman's place caught fire...we were the ones who helped put it out..."

"Using witchcraft." Someone cut in.

Jyne fell silent, clearly you can't reason with people who are being unreasonable. But never the less the crowed dispersed.

Simone and Iciel were at the edge of the creek when it happened. The sun was just casting rays through the trees at the time.

Footsteps and muffled shouts grew into loud victory whoops and her mother's desperate cries for help and mercy.

She would have neither.

Simone made an effort to stand up, only to be knocked to the ground by Iciel who bitterly whispered a command that he stay hidden behind the bushes if he didn't want to be burned alive.

And from their spot behind the bushes, they watched a group of burly men lead their parents up a hill.  
To the old lynching grounds. And at that moment Iceil decided to question her parents' motives for buying a house with an execution ground in the backyard. And why she didn't question it before.

She heard her father try to protest the burning of his wife. They tied the woman to the stake nonetheless, tight, restricting, unforgiving.  
The exact opposite of mercy.

And then the flames washed over her. It was slow and agonizing. The started at her feet, charring the flesh-melting it off. The woman let out tortured screeches and wails.

All the while Francis bought it upon himself to try to reach her. The man was restrained by a group of five and positioned to watch the flames crawl up his wives body-first taking her cloths and then more of her skin. Iceil swiftly covered her brother's eyes. The child didn't need this kind of trauma so early on...maybe later...but only when Iceil could be the one to cause it.

Iceil hadn't seen this much bloodshed in her 18 years of life. The fire reached her mother's face evaporating any tears. Her skin seemed to peel and flake off-leaving whatever was left to blacken. The remains would surely be grim as the woman's body no longer had any lips nor a full head of hair. And her eyes had pretty much melted away. It was at that when Iceil had to avert her eyes. A sickly feeling bubbling up.

When the girl had the guts to look back she came to the sight of her father's body swinging like a pendulum from a tree. The momentum of his drop still strong. The mob quickly advanced to the house. Iceil and Simon not far behind. The men stopped that the edge of the forest and drew out their matches. Each and everyone of them lit them up and chucked them at the manor in it's most flammable areas. Jyne and Linda wouldn't even make it to the door before the place met the ground below.

Simon had a different idea. The boy took off running to the house crying for his sisters.

"Damn it! Simon, get back here." Iceil hissed. But the kid already had his running start. And so she darted after him. She had come to his aid all to late; the same man who had tried to grab him yesterday hand flung his match right into the child's hair with a cruel laugh.

Simon screamed and tried swatting the fire out. He made a run for the forest...for the creek. Iceil prayed that he'd make it.

Knowing she was to late to help the boy she decided she'd at least avenge him. Grabbing a near by twig she set the man aflame. It would certainly be her last act. The mob now had their eyes fixed on her. Each trying their luck with tossing matches at her.

"You wanted to see a witch." Iceil smirked. "Well, take a look." She lifted a hand, freezing the flames mid-air and then took off for the forest.

She made it to the creek. And that was just it. She saw Simone, his little body still smoking though the flames had died. And she decided that she really had no reason to run. What was the point now that her family had left. She let them bind her and toss her into the small body of water.

The creek was quick to fill her lungs.

And it was bliss.

She had waited for the Winx girls to find their way to bed before fading back into the kitchen.

She picked up the files. Useless things they were. Didn't even tell the whole story. Weren't even accurate. Only served to show just how much could get lost in translation as decades brushed by.

"House fire." Icy muttered to herself. "What a sorry lie." She hadn't died in a fire, quite the opposite really. She sighed. What did it matter anyhow? She let the papers fall to the floor.

She began pacing back and forth.

"I know you're like dead. But I like totally need my beauty sleep." Stella remarked.

"And I need you to wake up the others." Icy decided.

"Why would I do that?" Stella asked.

"Do it or I will." Icy muttered. She gave Stella only a moment to consider before she let out an anguished cry...a cry that had all the lights flickering.

It took only a few minutes for the entire household (aside from Darcy and Stormy) to assemble down stairs.

"Now that I have your attention...we're going on a little field trip." Icy decided.

"I thought you said that we don't go out at this hour." Tenca declared.

"This is important. And I won't wait until morning." Icy muttered. "There's something I want to do, something I can't do now that I'm dead."

"What is it?" Flora asked.

"I want to bury my body…our bodies. Properly." Icy requested.

"Excuse me!?" Stella yelled.

"Follow me." Icy requested as she lead them down the hall back into the room where Ibinu had been summoned. "This isn't just some place of summoning. This is where Jyne, Darcy and Stormy's remains were hidden. Tare the plaster off the wall and get them for me."

The girls hesitated. After a good while, Bloom knocked the wall over in a wave of fire.

"Someone take Darcy, someone take Stormy." Icy requested.

Bloom responded first—she gently lifted what was left of Darcy into her arms. Musa followed in her lead. It was Tecna who took Jyne's body.

Icy gave them a moment to adjust before leading them outside. "Remember…"

"Don't let them in." Stella filled in.

"That means you Bloom." Icy added as she lead them into the forest.

"What are you doing out here Iceil?" Simon asked.

"Simon. Where is your body?" Icy asked. The boy looked up and lead them deeper into the forest. They followed along, attempting to block out the ominous whispers of souls long lost and the occasional snapping of a twig.

"Over here." Simon pointed beneath a bush.

"Well, you heard him." Icy stated.

Flora brushed the thickets aside and uncovered the little boy. He stared at his own corpse for a short while. "Can I? If I possess my own body, can I come back to life?" Simon asked.

"Don't be so naïve, all that will do is stick you in a rotting corpse." Icy responded.

The boy nodded before fading away.

"Now. Layla, you have to be the one to retrieve my body." Icy remarked. She looked to the body of water. "I need you to remove it from the lake."

"Icy I thought you died in a…" She started.

"Don't believe everything you read." Icy cut her off.

"You drowned?" Layla asked as she played with the waves. Probing them for Icy's body. At last she located it and pulled it to the surface.

It was quite a sad sight; bones yellowing, the creek clinging to it. Seaweed and algae among other things wrapped around her ribs and other bones. Small patches of silver hair still and flesh lingered on her soaked corpse. She turned away.

"We'll walk up the hill and bury the bodies…us by our parents." Icy decided. A snarling sounded from somewhere within the forest. "And Ibinu isn't going to stop us this time." She glared in the direction of the growling.

"This isn't just about a proper burial is it? It's about helping you all cross over isn't it?" Tecna asked.

"It's a start." Icy admitted. "But it really is just about…closure I suppose."

They walked in silence towards the hill. Well it was almost silent. A flock of crows cawed an eerie tune. A melody of death and despair. Of melancholy and distress. Every part of Icy wanted to knock them from the branches as she had those loathsome ducks. But now wasn't the time for that.

"Ew!" Stella broke the silence as her foot crunched a duck corpse below. She had been tediously and successfully avoiding them up to that point.

"Well at least we know we're getting close." Layla pointed out.

"Not close." Icy pointed out. "Already here." She gazed up at the large and charred stake. "The beginning of our true passing."


	10. The White Room

"Go ahead." Icy prompted, allowing time for the girls to lie the bodies carefully on the ground.

Bloom was the first to take her shovel to the ground. She let the shovel slide into the soil and resurface. The ground was surprisingly soft and easy to maneuver.

"I could use a hand guys." Bloom requested.

The girls did nothing at all, they simply stared as she continued the laborious task.

"Alright, fine I'll do it myself." Bloom huffed between shovel fulls of dirt.

As the fairy shoveled away, Ibinu only seem to grow more and more restless. The air seemed to thicken with every time the shovel slipped into the soil. And the bigger the pile of discarded dirt grew the more forcefully the leaves rustled-and without wind to provoke them.

"They're practically crying for help." Flora remarked at one point, when it seemed as if the forest itself was closing in on them.

It wasn't a huge exaggeration for Bloom to say she was suffocated by the density of the air around her. In fact the feeling actually had a profound effect on her shoveling.

Ibinu let out a particularly loud grunt. Bloom ignored it and continued to contact the shovel with the dirt.

_Almost there._ Bloom thought to herself, wondering if the others could hear the whispers. The cries of the lost souls. And then Bloom wondered if she was digging to close to someone else's grave. Maybe that's why the whispers were so loud. I mean it was totally in character for Icy to let her do something like that and then laugh at her. She may be dead but she still enjoyed getting a kick in others' suspense.

"Did you learn nothing?" Icy asked.

"Excuse me?" Bloom replied.

"Don't. Let. Them. In." Icy warned very slowly, enunciating every word as clearly as possible.

Bloom sighed and got back to work. "How much deeper?" She asked after a while.

"Can you fit five bodies in a hole that shallow?" Icy asked. "Sure, that'll fit Simon...maybe...but not all of us."

So Bloom kept digging, a film of sweat forming at her brow and dripping down the side of her head. With a heavy pant she brushed it dry.

Her back hurt like a bitch, but the sooner she got this done, the sooner she could get inside.

And another growl and a snarl from Ibinu. This one sounded as if it were directed right in her ear.

"You should probably hurry up." Icy shrugged indifferently.

"Well if I had some help from the others..." Bloom glared up at them.

"The others?" Icy asked.

"Ya know, Musa, Tecna, Flora. Oh and Layla and Stella. The others." Bloom tossed the shovel to the ground. It was then that she realized that they weren't there at all. Nor were any of the bodies.

"You should really head back now." Icy whispered.

"_You_ were the one who told me to come out here!" Bloom hollered, her voice unusually high. She then turned to where she found the whispering to be most audible. "Shut up! Stop talking!" She covered her ears, trying desperately to block them out.

"You're going to have to try harder than that." Icy rolled her eyes.

"What's going on!? Where are they? Where are my friends?" Bloom screamed.

"Your friends were never here." Icy shrugged.

"No. No. No, no no, I _saw_ you talking to them I _saw_ you interacting with them." Bloom declared.

"Yes Bloom, you _saw_ them." Icy started.

"Don't you dare tell me that you didn't see them." Bloom growled.

"Oh I saw them. I saw them because that's what you wanted me to see. Don't you understand Bloom? Everything I do, everything I've ever done was your own making." Icy declared.

"What are you talking about?" Bloom hissed.

"Don't you get it? I'm not real." Icy declared.

"That's a load of crap!" Bloom yelled. "You are real."

"Only as real as you make me." Icy muttered.

Ibinu appeared at the edge of the forest. Standing perfectly in between two of the tallest...darkest trees. His face almost a mask. A grotesque mask made of only the most vial of insects crawling around in the dirt. He opened his mouth to let out an ungodly sound (a snarl, a grunt, a pig squeal, a screech, all at once in unison) and as he did, from his mouth spattered a cluster of worms and beetles.

Bloom cringed. "NO! NO! Stay away." Her voice seemed to crack. She looked to Icy. "Help me!"

"You have to block him out Bloom. I can't do it for you." Icy said in response.

"I can't." Bloom edged back as the demon drew near. He let out another horrid bellow. Bloom jumped back...this time right into the hole she had just dug.

"This is you're fault!" Bloom stared up at Icy. "Why did you tell me to come out here?"

"Perhaps it's because a part of you wanted to break the curfew. Part of you wanted to see what was out here." Icy paused. "It's a shame you can't see it for what it really is."

Bloom felt a sharp sting in her arm and then nothing more.

* * *

She woke up in a white sheeted bed.  
Woozy.  
Disoriented.  
Head pounding.

She gazed up at the padded ceiling. The room smelled of various sanitizers and chemicals.

"And you found her out in the forest doing what?" Came a muffled female voice.

"At first it looked like she was digging. And then she started screaming about something. Crying out for...'Ice' or was it 'Icy?' Something wintery." A man responded.

"Ah yes, Icy. She's mentioned her a few times. I've been trying to get her to tell me more about that one. One minute the girl is speaking fondly of her, the next she's murmuring about how she wishes Icy would just fade away." The female explained. "Recently she's taken to wandering around the institute requesting files of some sort. She has this very compelling and elaborate version of the Salem witch trials. Even mixes it in with fantasy worlds of her own accord."

"So, how long has she been talking to...Icy?" The male asked.

"Years now." The female replied. "But Ibinu is new. He's the one that's going to keep her up through the nights. Darkar did a good number on her. Took quite a while to break her of that delusion." The female explained.

"So how do you deal with it? The hallucinations I mean." The man asked.

"We just keep telling her she has to block them out. Sometimes she listens. Most of the time she lets them in." The woman paused. "Doesn't help that she's been refusing to take the pills." She added.

Bloom put her hands to her ears. _Icy was real, Ibinu was real, they are all real! And Bloom knew it._

"Icy." She called out. "Icy!"

And the woman appeared before her.

"You can't keep doing this you know?" The witch pointed out. "You have to let me go or you'll never get out of here."

"They think you're a hallucination." Bloom spat.

"Am I not?" She replied.

"You can't just pretend like you're a hallucination!" Bloom shouted.

Icy looked the fairy dead in the eyes. "And you can't just keep pretending that I'm real."


End file.
